ELECTION Marshall primary preview

Friday

May 14, 2004 at 10:35 AM

By Cindy WestTimes Staff Writer

With the formation of a fourth city school system and two new high schools, the Marshall County Board of Education has been much in the news lately.Three Democrats have qualified as candidates for Place 4 on the school board. Incumbent James Watkins is not running for reelection.The only Republican candidate, Bill Ingram of Albertville, will be interviewed with the winner of the Democratic primary before the general election in November.The Democratic candidates share some views of how the education system could be improved in Marshall County.Lynn Brothers spent 28 years in education, holding the positions of teacher, coach, assistant principal and principal before retiring from the top position at Evans Elementary School in Albertville last January.Brothers said he agrees with the decision to add high-school grades to Asbury Junior High School and Brindlee Mountain Middle School. "They're financially able to, as we understand it," Brothers said. "If it's going to put them in a financial crunch, I wouldn't be (in favor of it), not at this time. Those communities deserve their place to go to school also. It's not going to be easy for the first year or two, but they've got the people to lead those schools, and the support is there."The Marshall County Board of Education faces financial challenges over the next four years. "You have to make a budget, stay within that budget, and then you may have to adjust the budget as you go along," Brothers said. "It's just like personal finances. Sometimes you need to make adjustments to the budget to take care of things. The school board can do that. I think the leadership is there, and it will be there."The purpose of the school system is to educate the children, Brothers said. "To make teachers stronger in the classroom, you need professional development," he said. Professional development is training to help teachers become better at their jobs. "Teachers have to lead, be strong in academics and challenge the kids."They need the basics, but they also need electives, such as art and music, even in the elementary grades. Research shows that academics are better if you have the electives," Brothers said.Guffey said said in his 17 years in maintenance at Marshall County Schools he saw a lot of things that could be done differently "management and money-wise: how they operate the schools, how they treat their students, stuff like that. There's a lot of favoritism that goes on, I think. I would try to get some of that changed."Guffey agrees with the decision to create new high schools. "We transfer students on the bus to other schools, and it would bring more money into the county, too. If we're sending students to other high schools, it's going to take money away (from the county school system)," he said.Building those high schools is probably the greatest challenge currently facing the school board, Guffey said. Busing and money management are other hurdles.Jolley said more attention needs to be paid to academics. "I'd really have to look at what is set up now and see what could be better set up to benefit the kids," Jolley said. "Anything that would better their education needs to be looked at and improved. I'd like to have some kids' input on that to see what they would be interested in. They need some representation, especially after they get into middle school, as far as curriculum goes to see what they are interested in."Jolley agrees with the decision to add high-school grades at Asbury and Brindlee Mountain "so the kids won't have to travel on the bus for extended periods of time, and for the parents, it's closer for them to get to the school to talk to the teachers and other various events."The biggest challenge will be paying for those new high schools and the overall money situation. "(We must) make sure we have the funding and keep the funding for the schools," Jolley said.The polls in Marshall County will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. June 1. Two races, Marshall County Commission District 3 and Marshall County Board of Education Place 3, have only one Republican and one Democratic candidate each.The only other contested primary race on the ballot is Marshall County Commission District 2. That race will determine which Democratic candidate, Dwight Kelly or incumbent R.E. Martin, will face Republican Ronnie Wright in the general election.

Name: Lynn BrothersAge: 52Residence: High Point community near AlbertvilleOccupation: retired educatorEducation: Ed.S. degree in educational administration leadershipPrevious political offices: none

Name: Sherrill JolleyAge: 43Residence: HortonOccupation: Owner of Douglas ApplianceEducation: High school and Whirlpool technical schoolPrevious political offices: Two terms on Douglas Town Council (1984-1992)

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